A House Democrat raised concerns about the trial schedule ahead of Donald Trump and how it might impact the former president’s ability to run his 2024 election campaign.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) talked on Wednesday with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, who made the point that “blue America doesn’t seem to understand that red America thinks this is a complete setup job” when it comes to Trump facing four criminal cases.
The congressman dismissed the notion that people could declare their candidacy for office to try and shake prosecutions, but did note some contention when it comes to the timing of the proceedings.
“I do think we need to make sure that in the timing, if Trump does emerge as the Republican nominee, that it does not compromise the ability to have a robust campaign schedule,” Khanna said.
“And I imagine that the courts will take that into consideration if he is the nominee,” he added. “You know, he may not be the nominee.”
Trial start dates have been picked in three of the criminal cases against Trump, who is the frontrunner in the GOP presidential nomination contest in a large field of candidates.
A federal judge just set Trump’s federal election interference trial in Washington, D.C., for March 4, which is one day before Super Tuesday. In addition, the hush-money criminal case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and special counsel Jack Smith’s documents case are set to begin on March 25 and May 20, respectively, both of which are right in the middle of a slate of election contests.
One other criminal matter — this one in Georgia — remains unclear as of press time. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has proposed starting the trial in her 2020 election case against Trump and 18 of his allies on March 4, which is the same date now selected for the federal election case. It also happens to be one week before Georgia’s primary on March 12.
The Republican National Convention is scheduled to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from July 15-18.
Across all the legal matters, Trump has broadly denied any wrongdoing and said that the indictments should be viewed as a “campaign contribution” to President Joe Biden, who is also seeking re-election. He has pleaded not guilty to charges in New York, D.C., and Florida. Trump and his co-defendants in the Georgia election case are set to be arraigned next week.
Khanna, whose district lies in Silicon Valley, said as a member of Congress trial dates are not up to him, though he reasoned that they may ultimately change depending on Trump’s success on the campaign trail.
“My instinct on all of this is they’re not going to have trials in the middle of something that’s going to compromise a candidate’s ability who has real traction to have a fair fight,” he said. “I just don’t see that happening in our country.”
Post a Comment